


A Fairy's Promise

by silversoda



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Fae & Fairies, Fairy Tale Elements, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27744730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silversoda/pseuds/silversoda
Summary: Far far away, there lies an enchanted forest full of mystical creatures both large and small with a grand kingdom full of humans that rests right next to it. This is a tale of how a bond between a human and a small creature came to be.(P.s. I couldn't find a tag for it but Kokichi is a fairy. Also Shuichi and Rantaro are brothers.)
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	1. Into the forest

**Author's Note:**

> ok I've never tried to write a full fanfic before so I'm posting this as a reminder to finish it, but also because I've never seen a fic like this before? For this dynamic I mean. So yea, please enjoy!! <3

It was a bright, sunny day that overlooked the kingdom. Today was the Grand Festival. Every year, the kingdom holds a festival to celebrate the great harvest of the year. The town's people all gather around to congratulate one another on the harvest and dance until the sun rises again. 

The smell of fresh baked bread wafts around the town along with the sound of children's laughter and loud chattering from the townsfolk. Everyone was excited to see another successful harvest and reap the benefits of it.

Shuichi Saihara was one of those especially excited to reap the benefits of this year's harvest after all the hard work he's been doing. His older brother, Rantaro, and himself worked closely with some of the most well known farmer's in the town which meant Shuichi went on some of the longest adventures to bring back some black berries. However, he knew the journey for those black berries was rewarding in the end as he walked through the kingdom seeing everyone's smiling faces.

Those black berries are special to him because of how he got them.They come from the farthest corner of the enchanted forest that rests at the outskirts of the kingdom. Fairies guard these black berries with their life. Fairies are extremely loyal to their life purposes and do not take promises lightly. He should know since that's how he got the berries in the first place.

3 months ago, Shuichi was awoken by his brother at 6 a.m. sharp.

"Shuichi! Shu-Shuuu, Hey- Wake up already!" Rantaro said while shaking him vigorously.

Shuichi, who is not an "early bird catches the worm" type of person, glared at his older brother.

"Rantaro, I know you see my eyes open." he said in a not so cheery tone. "What time is it anyways?" he said before turning towards the window in his room. 

"The sun isn't even up yet!?" he gawked before rolling over to his other side. "Goodnight Rantaro, wake me when the sun decides to make an appearance." 

"Wha- No, No, No!" Rantaro practically yanked his younger brother out of his bed. "No sleeping! Seriously this is important I swear!"

Shuichi sighed. "Okay. What is so important that it couldn't wait until the sun rises?"

"I did it!" 

Shuichi stared. "Huh??"

"I finally got Master Byakuya to promote me among the most well known farmers!" he smiled. "We're gonna get so many silver coins!" His eyes were beaming with joy. He knows that his brother has been working himself to the bone to prove to Byakuya that he was worthy of a job amongst the big leagues. This was literally his brother's biggest goal and he finally achieved it.

"That's amazing Rantaro!" he threw his arms up in a wave of excitement. "I'm so proud of you!"  
He was so happy to see his brother's hard work pay off. He admired that about him. 

Growing up wasn't easy for them. Their parents died due to sickness when Shuichi was around 7 years old. Rantaro was 10 years old and was willing to do anything he needed to keep him and his brother fed. He remembers Rantaro helping the old women around town with their laundry or sharpening swords for the knights who kept guard at the main castle's gate. Rantaro deserved to have his dreams come true more than anybody else he knew.

"Wait, but that's not all!" Rantaro added. Shuichi noticed he had something behind his back.

Without drawing out the information any longer, Rantaro shoved a brown leather satchel in his brother's face.

"Master Byakuya also agreed to let you work with me! We'll be going to the enchanted forest together in a few hours!" he said with a giant smile.

Shuichi was truly happy to know that he was going to work alongside his brother. However, he wasn't too excited about the "a few hours" part. Nevertheless, he smiled back at Rantaro. "That sounds great Taro. Just please, next time warn me. You know I don't do well with surprises." he rolled his eyes and accepted the satchel from Rantaro. 

"Hey, surprises can be good sometimes. You'll see." he smiled and ruffled his brother's hair.

"Ugh- Stop-"

"Anyways, breakfast is ready!" he said before walking out the room.

Shuichi sat in bed. The smell of eggs, ham, and rice began to chant his name. He raced out his room like a rocket.

The two brothers had eaten and were ready to begin farming. They set off to the enchanted forest that lies just beyond the outskirts of their kingdom. They were told by Byakuya to join a well known farmer and animal tamer by the name of Gundham or Sir Gundham as Rantaro would address him. They had their satchels filled with snacks for the journey and a weapon or two just in case they ran into some.... trouble.

Truth be told, the enchanted forest is filled with many creatures large and small. The creatures range from cunning spirits to dragons to tricky fairies. However, some creatures prove to be more hostile than others. Trolls for example. Shuichi knew they weren't large at all, they barely even reached his knees. That doesn't stop him from fearing them due to one of his classmates stories' of when they wandered into the forest as a child and met a troll who attempted to harm them via throwing rocks at their head. 

Walking into the forest was like setting foot into another dimension. The clear cloudless sky is replaced with green luscious tree tops that cover every inch of the forest. The more steps they took the less sound of towns folk chattering and livestock grumbling they heard. The sounds of birds whistling short tunes along with cicadas chirping and whirring in the trees filled their ears. There was no longer a faint scent of bread wafting through the air. The only smell was that of tall pine trees and dirt. The air caresses their cheek as if telling them to go deeper into it.

Shuichi gulped suddenly, aware of where exactly they were.

Rantaro led the way beckoning Shuichi to follow.

"Come on slowpoke, don't wanna be late on our first day of work do ya?"

Shuichi rolled his eyes but followed. "Yeah, Yeah."

They began walking North. Byakuya had told them that Gundham would be with a few of his workers near a giant apple tree. 

"You couldn't possibly miss it, it's the largest tree in the whole forest. Quite frankly if you didn't see it, I'd be concerned how you made it this far in life without being able to see something so obvious." he told Rantaro before sending him off. 

Around an hour passed and the two brothers still haven't reached the apple tree. All they've seen so far is pine trees or oak trees, but no apple tree in sight. Not only that, their stomachs had begun to realize that it's around lunch time. Rantaro spotted a yellow mushroom the size of a small horse and sat underneath it. He laughed as Shuichi gave him a confused look and pointed at him.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"Resting."

"I- What? I thought you wanted to find the apple tree?"

Rantaro laughed again. "Of course I do! But it's best to not work on an empty stomach." he said as he grabbed into his satchel and pulled out bread and some jam. Shuichi covered his mouth with his hand as he realized his stomach just growled at the sight of food. He joined his brother under the giant mushroom and took the torn piece of bread he offered him.

"Thanks, Taro." he said before grabbing a butter knife and spreading some grape jam over it.

"Not a problem Shu."

They sat under the mushroom for a while just speaking about mundane things and enjoying their bread until it was all gone. 

"Alright, back to business." Rantaro said.

Shuichi mumbled an "Mhm" in response as he began packing the snacks they just ate. Now his satchel contained a silver dagger, a flask of water, some type of strawberry hard candy given to him by his brother, and grape jam.

Another hour passes and they finally see it. A giant apple tree looms over all that is around it. Its trunk is as wide as four pine trees aligned together. Its roots stretching as far as a mile away. The tree's leaves swayed as if it was breathing with the beat of the wind. Its small varied colors of mushrooms growing near the base were all bunched together like the tightest ponytail. Its fresh, red, and ripe apples were plentiful and practically begging for someone to pick them. The tree looked like its own environment within the forest. 

Shuichi's eyes lit up in wonder. He's never seen anything so grand and if he was being honest with himself, this tree was more magnificent than he imagined. He was staring at it for so long that he nearly missed Gundham's presence. 

"Stop right there you fiends!" he said, lifting up his arm and sticking it out. "State your business before you dare come any closer to this majestic specimen that bears the fruit of the serpent."

Shuichi was completely dumbfounded at his choice of words, finding it difficult to keep up. His brother however, seemed to understand the meaning behind his words as he responded back.

"Good Afternoon, Sir Gundham." he smiled and waved. "We're here to help you out with apple picking per Master Byakuya's orders."

Shuichi forgot how polite Rantaro could be when it comes to his job affairs. He always made sure to address everyone above him properly and use formal language that would never pass his lips at home. He holds back a laugh thinking about the contrast between his brother working and him just lounging around their home.

Gundham then retracts his hand signal by crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Ah, I see. I was alerted by Byakuya yesterday that new troubled souls would be joining my pact of exceptional harvesters." he chuckled lowly before pointing to a tall man with long dark olive green hair tied into a bun. 

"Over there is Gonta. He may appear as a hostile bear at first glance, however he is nothing more than a fluttering butterfly."

He then points to a girl with pretty brown skin and dazzling blue eyes who was sneakily trying to eat an apple instead of pick one. "That's Asahina. She has energy similar to that of a rabbit, yet is a glutton for food just like a common hound."

Suddenly, he turned towards her direction.

"You fiend! Need I remind you of the countless times I have told you that we shall not eat from our daily produce pile!?" 

She crossed her arms and puckered her lips in the shape of a three. "No fair! We work extremely hard to harvest these for the townspeople, the least I could have is just one apple."

Instantly forgetting about the brothers, Gundham walked over to Asahina to stop her from eating anymore apples from her basket. 

Rantaro and Shuichi just stood there watching the chaos unfold. This is their first day on the job and neither of them were given any orders on what to do. Shuichi didn't even fully digest how huge this tree and this whole forest is yet. He was still transfixed on all the small details of the atmosphere around him like all the tiny toadstools at the bottom of the tree or the small nest of ladybugs Gonta seemed to be intrigued by. Wait, wasn't he supposed to be picking apples?

From the corner of his eye he saw a movement from behind the tree. This naturally would've scared him and caused him to pull out his dagger if it weren't for the fact that the cause of this movement was just a girl with blonde hair and dirt on her pants.

"Hello! You two must be the new workers Master Byakuya sent in."

The brothers nodded in unison.

She smiled and waved with her hand that wasn't holding a giant basket full of apples with what seemed to be some instrument underneath it all. 

"I'm Kaede! It's nice to meet you guys! We'll be working with each other from now on, so I hope we all become close friends!"

They both smiled back at her. 

She noticed the absence of her boss as he was busy watching over Asahina so she doesn't take another bite of something she shouldn't. Kaede giggled because she was all so used to this routine, it reminded her why she loved working with them. 

"Seeing as Gundham is busy right now, did he tell you guys what to do yet?"

Rantaro was quick to reply with, "Not really, but we're ready to do whatever you ask of us, Lady Kaede."

"No need to be so formal silly. We're coworkers now!" she rolled her eyes while laughing playfully. "Anyways, we're just going to be picking as many apples as we can before the sun starts to get too low."

She walked over to Gonta and asked him for two more baskets. He gladly gave them to her while telling her about the ladybugs that nestled in the part of the tree he was at. 

She walked back over towards Shuichi and Rantaro handing them both their own baskets. 

"Alright! Gonta and I agreed to both help out one of you guys with today's load. Uh, which one of us would you prefer to help you out?"

Shuichi really didn't know who to pick. They both seemed so kind and both had experience in this field of work. However, his brother beat him to a response before he could even utter a word.

"Well, honestly Kaede you seem like a focused worker and I think we'd make a great team." he smiled, hoping that didn't sound too forward or anything like that. He only wanted to do his best for the first day of the job. He had no room to slack off.

"Awesome! I'm picking the apples in the back of the tree, c'mon follow me." She then guided Rantaro around the circumference of the tree until Shuichi could no longer see them.

This left Gonta and him to work on the right side of the tree. He walked over to Gonta who was picking apples while counting the numbers of dots on one orange ladybug. 

"Um, hello. I'm Shuichi. I'm going to be picking apples with you for today." he gave the best friendly smile he could muster. He knows Gundham said Gonta was nothing but a "fluttering butterfly", but he also didn't want to upset him on accident. 

Gonta looked down to meet Shuichi's eyes and smiled back with excitement.

"Hello there Shuichi! I am Gonta." 

"Ah, nice to meet you Gonta."

"Same to you! Tell me, do you know what you need to do?"

"Uh, pick apples?"

Gonta laughed loudly. "Of course! Come, Gonta show you where best apples to pick are." 

Shuichi nodded and followed. Aside from initially being confused when he first arrived, he could slowly see himself get the hang of this. These farmers actually seemed like a really cool group of people that he looked forward to knowing more. 

Time had passed and the sun began to slowly drag down towards the horizon. 

"It appears the twilight is falling upon us." Gundham said as he counted heads, making sure everyone was together. 

"Ah good. All 6 of us are present. We may now usher out of this treacherous demonic forest." 

Shuichi wiped the sweat off his brow. He never expected apple picking to be such an active task. He spent a long time repeating the same actions with the same quick speed. Look for a ripe juicy apple, check it to see if there's any bruises, gently twist and pull the stem, toss in the basket, repeat.  
He was ready to go home and rest.

He was just about to walk towards Gundham and give him the number of apples he picked before he noticed something.

His satchel was missing.

He frantically looked around the place where he was picking apples, but he saw nothing but small toadstools and an ant pile. 

Then, from the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a shining light pass his legs and go further into the forest.

Did he really just see that? Sure, it's getting dark enough for bright things to be even more noticeable, but no one had a candle or lantern around him. He was standing on the far right side of the tree alone. 

His mind began to race with thoughts of what if someone took it? Or not someone but...something. 

He was scared to tell the others that he had lost something important because he really didn't want to hold the group up in this forest any longer. However, he was also determined to find out where his satchel was. The most important thing in there was his silver dagger which was a gift from Rantaro. 

With slight hesitation he looked back towards the group and saw them busy with making sure they had all their supplies together before they left. 

He quickly ran into the forest, hoping that whatever took his satchel just wasn't a troll with plenty of rocks nearby. 

As he walked deeper into the forest he noticed something about the trees. At first, he didn't pay it much attention, but every couple of trees that he passed had some kind of symbol carved in the center of them. The symbol appeared to be a crescent shape on its side with two circles vertically on top of each other going up out of the space of the crescent and a single smaller circle underneath it. 

He feels like it's only been about 3 minutes since he's walked into the heavily wooded area and he has yet to find what he's looking for. 

That's when he sees it.

Almost as quick as lightning, a bright shimmering violet light passed Shuichi's hand.

He quickly followed even though he had no idea what it was. His body was just doing what it thought it needed to do and right now that was chasing after this light.

This beaming ray of light was much quicker than he anticipated. Every time he thought he had the light within his grasp, it got even faster and further away from him.

After chasing it for what felt like forever, it suddenly stopped ahead of him. He was panting by the time he caught up to it.

That's when he saw what he was looking for. Right underneath the glowing light was his satchel. He wanted to rush over to grab it, but the light above it suddenly became brighter.

The violet light was growing bigger and lighting up the whole area that they were standing in. Shuichi had to look down to shield his eyes from the brightness of it.

Just as soon as it had started it stopped.

He looked up to see a short boy with pointy ears, dark purple eyes, and huge translucent purple wings in front of him. He looked down a bit and noticed he was wearing an all white shirt with black buttons and casual black slacks. The thing he noticed the most was the bright purple emblem on his shirt pocket that looked just like the symbols in the trees.

"Nishishi~ You're one of the dumbest humans I've met! You really chased me for this old thing?" he smiled and pointed at his satchel. 

Shuichi didn't fully comprehend what just happened.

Slowly, he started putting together all the puzzle pieces in his mind and it clicked.

He just chased a fairy through the enchanted forest with no idea how to get back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk whats going on with notes but the ending notes were repeating? anyways, thank u for reading!! <3


	2. First meeting and first promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi meets Kokichi for the first time and speaks to his brother about fairies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a bit short and i apologise for that, but i hope you enjoy reading it anyways <3

Shuichi was thinking of any possible way to get out of this situation. He didn't know a lot about the creatures that dwell in the forest, but he did know one thing.

Fairies are ultimately tricky and quick witted creatures. They have powers that nobody in the kingdom could truly understand. 

"Tell me, are all humans as dumb as you?" the fairy teased. 

"Usually, they'd run away screaming by now. Ah, but not before I chase them and devour their souls of course." The fairy giggled. 

Shuichi was just listening to him. He knows better than to attack an opponent when you have no idea what their fighting style is like. Observation and listening is key.

"Aw man, why are you still standing there? Aren't you scared that I might kill you?" 

Shuichi had a feeling that what he was about to say was a bad idea.

"Hey…. you're lying right now aren't you?"

The fairy laughed loudly with hands over his stomach. 

"Oh man, humans really did change."

Shuichi wasn't sure what to make of that statement. The fairy boy then slowly glided over to Shuichi, his feet resting not on the ground but on the air. He stuck his hand outward in the form of a handshake.

"You may be the dumbest human I've met, but you're definitely not the most boring either." His grin widened as he said, "My name is Kokichi. What's yours?" 

Shuichi gulped but he managed to hold his hand out without it trembling and shake Kokichi's hand.

"I'm Shuichi." 

"Shuichi? Wow, I think I recognize that name! Have we met before!?"

"Wh-"

"Ha! Just kidding. We've never met before." he said in a sing-song voice. 

His facial expressions make it hard for Shuichi to tell whether or not he's telling the truth, but his tone of voice is noticeably different when he's just messing around. He dismisses the fairy's little jokes and looks back at his satchel laying on the ground.

"May I please have it back?"

"Have what back?" the fairy said as he raised his arms behind his head feigning ignorance. 

Shuichi rolls his eyes and walks past the fairy to retrieve his satchel. He checks inside it to make sure everything is still there. 

Random strawberry candy, check. 

Flask full of water, check.

The silver dagger given to him by his brother was still there, heavy in his hands as he picked it up. His panic from before has slightly subsided now that he knows he didn't just lose a very important gift to him. 

He digs around the satchel more.

Where is the grape jelly jar…?

"Are you looking for this?" Kokichi said while licking jelly from the corner of his mouth off. The jar was almost empty and Rantaro just bought it yesterday. 

"This jelly is pretty good, but everybody knows that fairies make the best treats in all of the land." He smiled while digging his finger into the jar to get another taste. 

Shuichi forgot that fairies are also known to make the sweetest treats known to man. Granted, he had assumed that was nothing more than a rumor since he was mainly taught how mischievous they can be.

"Is that so?" he asked. He wasn't entirely sure what Kokichi's intentions with him were, but he hasn't attempted to hurt him yet. He kept his dagger hidden beneath his sleeve just in case he misinterpreted the situation.

"Yup! Fairies make all kinds of things you humans could only dream of having! Chocolates, jellies, pies, cake, and bread. We do it all!" he winked while smiling at Shuichi. 

"Wow even bread? I don't know, the bakers in the kingdom could have you guys beat since I have no clue what fairy food tastes like." 

"Ahh. I see. You are quite a different human indeed." He placed a finger beside his mouth to mock an expression of surprise. "Oh! I know! I could take you to try some fruits from the fairy's bushes!" 

"Fairy's bushes?" Shuichi asked, eyes filled with a faint curiosity. He honestly didn't know if this was just another trick, but he wanted to know if Kokichi would really be willing to show him such a thing.

"Mhmm. But, on one condition of course!" He held up a single finger to emphasize his words. "You gotta beat me at a game I'm really good at." 

His smile was filled with trickery but his eyes showed a hint of a promise. 

However, Shuichi couldn't. He didn't have the time. His brother and his whole group of coworkers were still in the forest probably looking for him by now. He instantly regretted entertaining this fairy's boredom. 

He shook his head no. "I can't. You'd only get me more lost."

"Lost? You're lost?" Kokichi looked around the area they were in with all the trees marked with that symbol on his chest and no apple tree in sight.

"Oh. You really are lost, huh?" he laughed at Shuichi while pointing at him.

Shuichi was a bit embarrassed, he had never been laughed at so much in such a short span of time. His face was dusted with a light pink tone as he said, "You're the one who got me lost! You wanted grape jelly and instead of asking you just stole it!" 

"I don't ask humans for things because some of them aren't as kind as you." Kokichi said with a full serious tone. Not even a giggle escaped his mouth. 

"I saw the dagger you have in your satchel. I know you could hurt me if you wanted, but you haven't. Honestly, I was only messing with you so much to see how you really are." He shrugged.

So he was being tested by a fairy while also looking out for the fairy's intentions. They both seemed to take caution towards each other.

"Humans have never liked fairies much…" 

Kokichi's eyes seemed to gloss over with sadness as if remembering something painful. 

Suddenly, his expression changed to a wide smile with his eyes closed from joy. 

"I'm glad you aren't like that though, Shumai." 

Shuichi noticed the name change, but that was the thing he paid attention to the least in that interaction. Why did Kokichi look sad for a moment when talking about humans? Weren't fairies usually the ones who didn't like humans?

"Anyways~, you have to get back to the great apple tree right?" 

That brought Shuichi out of his inner thoughts. "Ah, yes. Um, do you….know the way back?" he asked, trying not to make eye contact with the fairy. He knows that the fairy must obviously know his way around the forest, after all this is his home. He was just worried that Kokichi wouldn't show him the way back unless he asked. 

"Course I do! I'll be happy to show you the way back…" His eyes shone with mischief. "After you agree to come back and play a game with me that is." 

Kokichi remained smiling as he teased Shuichi. Shuichi was not amused, but he realized he didn't have much of a choice. If he continued through the forest alone, he'd probably never make it back to Rantaro and the others. So, with an exasperated sigh he gave in to Kokichi's little trick. 

"Fine. I promise to come back and play a game with you if you promise to show me the way back to the apple tree." 

Kokichi tilted his head like a dog does when greeted by a treat. "You promise?"

"Yes."

Kokichi began to flutter his wings and his face looked a shade brighter, but Shuichi couldn't really tell if that was because of the soft violet light illuminating from his wings or not. 

"Then I promise to show you the way back. Follow me and try to keep up ok? You barely made it here the first time you chased me." 

Shuichi was about to say something about how he usually has great stamina, but due to apple picking he was more tired than usual. However, he didn't get the chance to explain before a bright light flashed in front of his eyes. He shut his eyes tightly.

As quickly as the light came, it vanished again.

He opened his eyes to see a tiny, but bright violet light similar to the one that was above his satchel. 

"Uh...Kokichi?"

The light blinked twice and flew in a circle. 

Shuichi wanted to ask it another question, but it began to fly off in the opposite direction. 

"Wait!"

Shuichi ran after the light as fast as he could. As he was running back towards the apple tree he noticed that the symbols that were once on the trees began to fade and disappear. He wondered why. 

Suddenly, his foot hit a thick root of a tree and he fell face first on the ground. 

He held his nose in pain. "Owww, God." He winced when he touched the bridge of his nose, but was glad that there was no blood at least. This would definitely leave a bruise though. 

He looked up to see Kaede's worried face.

"Shuichi! I'm so glad I found you!" She offered her arm to help get him back on his feet and off the ground. She then lightly dusted off his shirt for him before looking him sternly in the eyes.

"Where were you? We've been looking for you for almost half an hour! The sun is basically down now." Her arms were crossed but she looked more worried than angry at him. 

"I'm sorry, Kaede. I…" Can he even tell her about the whole fairy thing without sounding weird? He did just face-plant directly into the ground and if he told her that, she would probably just assume he hit his head too hard. He needed an excuse. 

"I...lost my satchel so I went into the forest, but it turns out it was here all along!" He laughed awkwardly but prayed that she bought his half-lie. 

She didn't look too convinced at first, but then she let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you found it, but please be careful in the forest. It's dangerous." She shook her head. "C'mon, we gotta go now. Don't want the others worried about you when you're right here ya know?"

He nodded. He looked behind him in the direction of where he just came from. He saw no shimmering violet light in sight. 

The first day had officially ended with Shuichi and Rantaro back at their little cottage. Shuichi had trouble sleeping that night. He couldn't stop thinking about the fairy. It was strange to him. Kokichi may have teased him a bit, but he didn't threaten him at all. Yet, both of them were secretly watching one another, scared to see who would hurt who first. He couldn't fully wrap his head around everything, but he did know one thing.

Fairies are tricky, but they are not malicious. 

The next day was the complete opposite of the one before. There was no clear and sunny skies, but instead a dark sky with the threat of a thunderstorm on its way. 

"It's going to rain soon." Rantaro sighed. 

Shuichi looked out the window and saw the grey clouds that hovered above the kingdom. The air could be heard lowly howling from how close he was to the window. 

"Yeah it is."

"Ughh, that means we don't have work today."

Shuichi raised one eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be glad about that?"

"Well, of course I enjoy my days off but…"

"But?"

"But the forest is really beautiful and we could use a few more silver coins if I'm being honest." He was digging through a velvet bag and counting how many coins they had. They weren't exactly rich, but they did have their own cottage and could afford a few meals within the kingdom. However, sometimes income can be low when you don't have one consistent job. 

"I hope it only rains just for today. Otherwise, we'd have to do a shift at the library with Lady Toko."

Shuichi shivered upon hearing that name. He didn't hate Toko at all, actually she was nice once you get to know her. It's just that sometimes her personality can be...a bit much. He'll never forget the time he was helping her put non-fiction books into alphabetical order. She apparently got caught up reading some sad romantic poems and began crying. He tried to cheer her up, but she ended up yelling at him and leaving him to do the alphabetizing all by himself. 

"I hope the rain clears up too." Shuichi said. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Shuichi was now watching the rain fall on the stones outside their cottage. The wind has picked up slightly, but it's nothing more than just heavy rain. 

"Hey." Rantaro called out to his brother from their dining table. 

"Yes?" Shuichi responded, still facing the window.

"Yesterday, in the forest...you didn't really just lose your satchel did you?"

Shuichi froze. He didn't think Rantaro would bring this up right now.

"I'm not mad at you by the way. I just wanna know why you lied to everybody."

"How did you know I was lying?"

Rantaro let out a small laugh. "You're my brother, Shuichi! I know when you're lying and when you're not. Don't worry about it though, I didn't tell the others about this."

Shuichi was now facing his brother. He knew he couldn't hide the truth from Rantaro, but would Rantaro believe in his story? Yes, all people of the kingdom knew of creatures who lived in the forest, but some people don't believe in those creatures unless they've never seen them with their own two eyes before. He was nervous to tell his brother about what really happened, but he couldn't lie to him either.

So, Shuichi told him about what happened. The only thing he left out was the fact that Kokichi had told him his name and the fact that he promised him he'd go back to play a game with him.

"In the end, I don't think we know everything about the creatures in that forest. But I definitely believe that not all of them are…so bad." Shuichi said at the end of his explanation. He hoped his brother would accept this as the truth, because it was.

He looked up to see Rantaro smiling at him. 

"I understand why you didn't tell the others this, they probably would've freaked out, especially Gundham. I'm happy you're safe more than anything. That fairy was a big help." 

Shuichi smiled back, glad to hear that his brother didn't think he was crazy.

"Just one thing though."

"Yeah?"

"That fairy was right, you can be a little dumb sometimes." Rantaro laughed.

Shuichi rolled his eyes and looked back towards the window again.

He wondered where fairies stayed when it rained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woww ok so, i really hope that the characters are ya know, in character lol. but, this chapter was fun to write! not sure when i'll update again though. this story shouldn't be very long. thank you so much for reading!! i hope you enjoyed! <3


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